The oldest trophy in Irish amateur golf will weigh a little heavier this year when the South of Ireland Amateur Open Championship gets underway at Lahinch on Wednesday this week 22nd July and runs until Sunday 26th July.
For many it will be a chance of eternal glory, to join legends that have gone before. For others it will be an audition for the Walker Cup this September while players tee it up in the last chance saloon looking to catch GB&I captain Dean Robertson’s eye. For those already guaranteed a spot on the team it will be a priceless chance to play Lahinch in tournament conditions.
With the five automatic qualifiers set to be confirmed upon the conclusion of the South of Ireland, there will be a host of Irish players looking to play their way into a captain’s pick and join newly minted Amateur champion Stuart Grehan on the team in front of a potential 30,000 sellout crowd in two months.
But there is a job at hand first: to win one of the most competitive South of Ireland championships there has ever been, with Walker Cup players from both GB&I and the USA expected in Clare.
GB&I captain Robertson expects to be on site during the tournament week and has encouraged his potential squad members to tee it up, with extra weight being carried for this event in terms of selections for the team.
“I’ve not insisted that anyone does anything. I have strongly encouraged them and certainly the South of Ireland is one that you will see a different dynamic on the entry list, that is for sure,” said the Scotsman who won on the European Tour in 1999 at the Italian Open, where he beat Pádraig Harrington by one shot.
“The winner of the South of Ireland brings a new dynamic to that event and we are looking for form players and winners in the team, so who is to say the winner of the South of Ireland isn’t a Walker Cup player this year?”
As far as his selections are concerned, he has put an emphasis on links golf results. Mark Cadden and Dylan Keating did their chances no harm with West and North wins, and they will be earmarked heading to Lahinch, as will a host of Irish contenders.
“Playing in California is so different to playing links golf,” added Robertson. “There is added weight to the big links championships. We will have a strong contingent in the field for the South. Given it is only going to be five or six weeks out from the Walker Cup, that in itself comes with the training camp. We will have a gathering which will include the West of Ireland champion, the North champion, and I am looking to bring them into the fold as well.”
Clare people love their hurling, but golf has a special place in the heart of the Banner County. Lahinch is used to hosting major international events, the 2019 Irish Open being the feather in the cap when Jon Rahm won.
This writer reflects on the 2023 Arnold Palmer Cup quite fondly as hurling and golf fans alike mixed and mingled in the 19th hole in the fervent town of Lahinch. Clare had just lost the All-Ireland semi-final to Kilkenny while those who were at the golf had a night on the town that Saturday.
Scenes of that nature will come again this month at the South and will probably be tenfold when the Walker Cup comes around. Lahinch and County Clare will be central to the Irish golfing landscape, with the Irish Open coming to Doonbeg the week after the Walker Cup.
Operations Manager at Lahinch Golf Club and former South champion TJ Ford is chomping at the bit to test his game against one of the deepest South of Ireland fields in recent memory.
“With the Irish Open in Doonbeg the week after the Walker Cup, it’s a really exciting time and the South this year is going to have an incredible field,” said Ford.
“Dean Robertson has indicated to his panel that if they want to be considered for Walker Cup selection, it’s a good idea to play in the South.
“It looks like there’s ten or so guys entered at the moment from GB&I, so it’s going to be as good a field as there probably ever has been in the South, so that’s going to be an extra special week.
“The U.S. Am is on the week after, but it’s the last big domestic event before Dean is selecting his panel, so it’s going to play a really big part in that Walker Cup selection.”
Stuart Grehan booked his spot on the Great Britain and Ireland team courtesy of his magnificent Amateur Championship victory at Royal Liverpool last month. Aside from the County Louth man, it is difficult to pick a clear contender to add to the Irish contingent at the Walker Cup.
There will be a lot of questions surrounding the South of Ireland. Does the winner get a spot on the team? If so, does that mean a left-field candidate can emerge with a victory? Will a missed cut damage the chances of a strong contender?
Last year’s champion Jonathan Keane will be hoping lightning can strike twice on home soil. The Lahinch member became the first home winner of the South of Ireland Championship since JD Smyth in 1968. Keane ended 57 years of hurt for home hopefuls when he beat Dundalk’s Caolan Rafferty one up, sparking joyous scenes in Lahinch on the final green.
“I went through a state of shock for the first five seconds. There was nothing going through my head. I dropped the putter and the hands went up to my eyes. I was still in a state of shock until the two boys lifted me on their shoulders and I realised what had happened and started letting out a few roars.”
For anybody from Lahinch, or County Clare for that matter, the South of Ireland Championship is ‘the one’ and local members don’t come much bigger than Keane.
The 25-year-old secondary school teacher is part of the fabric of Lahinch Golf Club, having joined as a member fourteen years ago while he has caddied there for ten years.
“It was always the one tournament being from Lahinch that you know of and the first you are introduced to as a member growing up,” explains the Kilfenora man. “When you are younger you want to play in it and as time goes on and you get better at golf you dream of winning it. So, it was amazing to go out and win it on Sunday.”
Former East of Ireland champion and current Irish international Howard fits the category of someone who could make a bolt from the blue and fast-track themselves onto the Walker Cup team by winning the South of Ireland.
Howard hasn’t had the results he would have wanted, a runner-up finish in the Irish Amateur Open being his best so far, but he feels playing against one of the best fields in amateur golf in Lahinch could spur him on.
“The South will have a seriously strong field this year, that should be a great test but yeah it will be huge. It would be great to see some of the GB&I players playing. All you can do is try and focus on your own game and get yourself in the best position possible to play well. You can’t control what selectors think or what happens during the week outside of yourself.”
Excitement and anticipation of this month’s championship isn’t just limited to players. Lahinch Golf Club captain John Gleeson feels there is an extra spice to this year.
“The members of Lahinch, and the entire local community always look forward to the week of the South.
“Last year’s championship was one of the most memorable ever with our own Jonathan Keane becoming the first home-grown player to win the South in fifty-seven years. With the Walker Cup following fast on the heels of the South, this year’s championship field promises to be one of the best ever assembled.”
The winner of this year’s South of Ireland Championship will walk away with the oldest provincial trophy in Irish amateur golf and perhaps a lot more. Maybe with a return ticket in September.
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